Thunder without NHL affiliate

The Stockton Thunder's summer of change continued Thursday as it found out it will need to search for a new NHL affiliate.

Scott Linesburgh

The Stockton Thunder's summer of change continued Thursday as it found out it will need to search for a new NHL affiliate.

The Edmonton Oilers ended their seven-year relationship with the Thunder, announcing they will be teaming up with Stockton's ECHL Pacific Division rival, the Bakersfield Condors. Since the Thunder ended last season with a loss in the Kelly Cup finals to the Reading (Pa.) Royals, it has had to bring in a new team president, Brian Sandy, and new head coach, Rich Kromm, who was hired Monday.

Now it finds itself an independent team, but Kromm and team owner Brad Rowbotham are confident the situation is temporary.

"My first goal is to have an NHL affiliate, as long as it's a good, productive fit for both sides," Rowbotham said. "And I think the Stockton Thunder offers a lot to an NHL franchise, including a great building, a loyal fan base and a reputation for developing players. We truly appreciated our relationship with the Oilers, but we're very excited about moving into the future."

Rowbotham said he was not expecting the news.

"It surprised me," he said. "The reason I was given was that the owner of the Oilers (Daryl Katz) lives in Palm Springs in winter and he wanted to be closer to a team he had some involvement with. I don't think it had to do with the performance of either organization or anything like that."

Palm Springs is 227 miles closer to Bakersfield than Stockton.

An email sent to the Oilers inquiring into the decision was answered with a statement from Edmonton assistant general manager Ricky Olczyk reading: "We would like to thank the Stockton Thunder organization and the city of Stockton for their generous support over the past seven seasons."

The Thunder was affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes in its first season in 2005-06, and then began its relationship with the Oilers. Stockton was also affiliated with the San Jose Sharks for two seasons (2010-12). Rowbotham said among the benefits of an affiliation for NHL teams is allowing a chance to evaluate players in front of crowds in competitive situations.

According to ECHL.com, there are currently nine NHL franchises without ECHL connections - Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, St. Louis, Buffalo, Toronto, New Jersey, Philadelphia and the New York Islanders. And teams invariably move around during the summer.

Kromm said he prefers having an affiliation and believes it will happen. He was contacted by one NHL team before the Oilers made their decision.

"I won't say who it was at this point, but it was the day after I was hired and they wanted to know what our situation was," Kromm said. "There are teams that are available, and I think we can work something out."